When LA takes the field against Seattle this weekend, expect the lineup to look like the one which put up five goals on Real Salt Lake. With the Galaxy and Sounders set to kick off their playoff series this Sunday, manager Bruce Arena and Robbie Keane had a conference call with reporters to preview the matchup where Arena tipped his hand as far as center back starters.
Leonardo started against RSL at the StubHub! Center, with A.J. DeLaGarza moving out wide. DeLaGarza's movement was a big reason why the LA Galaxy were able to get out to a hot start, but when Leonardo went down with an injury Arena had a choice to make. The decision on the field was to insert Tommy Meyer and leave DeLaGarza at right back. It looks from Arena's comments that he's looking to stick with that back line combination.
#LAvSEA Arena: Leonardo trained Tuesday, won't today. Tommy Meyer option at CB.
— Nick Green (@LAsoccerblog) November 20, 2014
If Leonardo can't go this weekend, Tommy Meyer might get to attempt replicating his 2012 playoff run at center back that saw the team finish as MLS Cup champions with the then rookie pulling his weight. The other option would be returning DeLaGarza to center back and putting Dan Gargan back in at right back. That's been the plan for much of the year, but the right side of DeLaGarza/Ishizaki proved quite effective last game.
Arena: #MLS collective bargaining agreement required teams to take 3 days off; teams are fresh and ready to play.
— Nick Green (@LAsoccerblog) November 20, 2014
International Duty kept Robbie Keane and A.J. DeLaGarza busy over the weekend, but both have returned to training while their teammates got a CBA mandated three day break. We'll see how the teams take shape over the next few days, but it looks like for now Arena is going with the old if it ain't broke approach.